The Cleveland Cavaliers still aren’t done signing players or looking for trades to improve the roster. Both LeBron James and J.R. Smith remained unsigned, and the Cavaliers will probably hold off signing them until they make a trade or decide there’s nothing good enough out there for them.
The reason isn’t a complicated one: The Cavaliers will once again be in the luxury tax after re-signing James and Smith, and that will make it difficult for them to make any trades. So while they’re still under the tax paying threshold, they prefer trying to find something they can work with. The deadline is flexible, but it’s probably going to be closer to training camp, and if the Cavs don’t find someone worth adding and making roster changes for by then, they’ll sign James, who isn’t going anywhere, and Smith, who is actually open to other offers.
The Cavs have allegedly made a $10 million per season offer to Smith, who is still waiting on higher offers, but probably won’t get it and take what Cleveland is giving him. This is very similar to last season, with Smith opting out of a deal, waiting for a big offer and then getting paid less than what the player option year would have given him. This season he’s going to get a raise, but once again, probably not the kind he was hoping for.
The Cavs have 12 players signed now that rookie Key Felder has been added to the mix. The roster remains very much like last season, along with some minor additions like Chris Andersen and Mike Dunleavy, while the Cavaliers are hoping Jordan McRae can become a lot more involved in their offense. He’s not going to be putting up Summer League numbers, but simply being a consistent piece of the rotation will be a pretty nice bonus considering they’ve changed very little, and gotten a year older.